Ghirardelli enters Dubai chocolate; PepsiCo spices up Pilgrim's chicken

· Agriculture & Food · United States

Ghirardelli is the latest chocolatier to jump into the Dubai chocolate craze, according to Food Dive's Leftovers column, which also reports that PepsiCo's Flamin' Hot brand is spicing up Pilgrim's chicken and that California Pizza Kitchen is expanding its packaged-goods lineup with prepackaged salads. The Dubai chocolate trend, driven by social media, has drawn confectioners looking to capture consumer attention with the pistachio-and-kataifi filled style. The other moves show continued crossover between food brands and packaged retail products, as restaurant and snack names extend into grocery aisles to reach shoppers outside their traditional channels.

Why it matters：It captures two currents shaping food retail: social-media-driven flavor fads that manufacturers rush to copy, and restaurant brands pushing further into packaged grocery products.

Key points

  • Ghirardelli joins other confectioners in the social-media-driven Dubai chocolate trend.
  • PepsiCo's Flamin' Hot brand is being applied to Pilgrim's chicken.
  • California Pizza Kitchen is adding prepackaged salads to its CPG lineup.

Sources (original reporting)

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